The Impact of Jesus in First-Century Palestine
Textual and Archaeological Evidence for Long-standing Discontent

Uses archaeological and textual evidence to clarify the nature of Galilean discontent and the advent of Jesus' eschatological ministry.

Rosemary Margaret Luff (Author)

9781108482233, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 August 2019

254 pages, 10 b/w illus. 3 maps 1 table
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm, 0.55 kg

'… it is by far the best study of what bones and other archaeological evidence for human and animal disease can tell us about the early 1st-century context of the Gospels yet published. The book deserves to be widely read by archaeologists, ancient historians and religious studies scholars for this alone, let alone its other contributions. However, the principal feature of the volume is that it contributes to situating the study of the early 1st-century 'Holy Land' firmly within the mainstream archaeology of the Roman provinces.' Ken Dark, Journal of Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society

Although the archaeological evidence indicates a prosperous and thriving Galilee in the early first century CE, the Gospel texts suggest a society under stress, where the rich were flourishing at the expense of the poor. In this multi-disciplinary study, Rosemary Margaret Luff contributes to current debates concerning the pressures on early first-century Palestinian Jews, particularly with reference to socio-economic and religious issues. She examines Jesus within his Jewish environment in order to understand why he rose to prominence when he did, and what motivated him to persevere with his mission. Luff's study includes six carefully-constructed essays that examine Early Christian texts against the wider background of late Second Temple Judaic literature, together with the material evidence of Galilee and Judea (Jerusalem). Synthesizing a wide range of archaeological and textual data for the first time, she offers new insights into the depth of social discontent and its role in the rise of Christianity.

Introduction
Part I. Memories of Jesus: The Textual Evidence: 1. Discontent in early first-century Galilee and Judea
2. Jesus, the Temple, and the chief priests
3. The character and Legacy of Jesus
Part II. Jesus in Context: The Archaeological Evidence: 4. Jewish identities and the distribution of ethnic indicators
5. Health hazards in first-century Palestine
6. Status, power, and wealth
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Judaism [HRJ], Christianity [HRC], History of religion [HRAX], Religion: general [HRA], Religion & beliefs [HR], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], History: earliest times to present day [HBL], History [HB], Humanities [H]